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League 2025 Farmboy (X) vs Axis-Dominion (L+15) BM

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TripleA Manual Gamesave Post: Americans round 10
TripleA Manual Gamesave Post for game: World War II Global 1940 Balanced Mod3

Game History
Round: 10 Purchase Units - Americans Americans buy 1 artillery, 3 carriers, 3 destroyers, 1 fighter and 4 infantry; Remaining resources: 0 PUs; Politics - Americans Trigger Americans Friendly With Mongolians activates a trigger called: Trigger Allies Friendly With Mongolians Combat Move - Americans 1 infantry moved from Greece to Bulgaria Americans take Bulgaria from Italians 1 infantry moved from Greece to Albania Americans take Albania from Italians 2 infantry moved from Morocco to 92 Sea Zone 2 infantry and 1 transport moved from 92 Sea Zone to 97 Sea Zone 2 infantry moved from 97 Sea Zone to Northern Italy 2 fighters and 1 tactical_bomber moved from Greece to Northern Italy 1 bomber moved from Greece to Northern Italy 2 infantry moved from Hawaiian Islands to 26 Sea Zone 2 infantry and 1 transport moved from 26 Sea Zone to 25 Sea Zone 2 infantry moved from Hawaiian Islands to 26 Sea Zone 2 infantry and 1 transport moved from 26 Sea Zone to 31 Sea Zone 1 destroyer moved from 10 Sea Zone to 25 Sea Zone 2 infantry moved from 25 Sea Zone to Midway 2 infantry moved from 31 Sea Zone to Wake Island 1 fighter and 1 tactical_bomber moved from 26 Sea Zone to Wake Island 2 fighters moved from 26 Sea Zone to Midway 1 submarine moved from 26 Sea Zone to 16 Sea Zone 4 fighters moved from 26 Sea Zone to 16 Sea Zone 2 fighters moved from 26 Sea Zone to Wake Island 2 fighters moved from 26 Sea Zone to Midway 1 fighter moved from 26 Sea Zone to 16 Sea Zone 3 fighters moved from Hawaiian Islands to 25 Sea Zone 2 fighters moved from Western United States to 25 Sea Zone 1 transport moved from 97 Sea Zone to 92 Sea Zone Combat - Americans Battle in Northern Italy Americans attack with 1 bomber, 2 fighters, 2 infantry and 1 tactical_bomber Italians defend with 1 factory_minor and 2 infantry Americans roll dice for 1 battleship and 1 cruiser in Northern Italy, round 2 : 1/2 hits, 1.17 expected hits Americans roll dice for 1 bomber, 2 fighters, 2 infantry and 1 tactical_bomber in Northern Italy, round 2 : 4/6 hits, 2.67 expected hits Italians roll dice for 2 infantry in Northern Italy, round 2 : 1/2 hits, 0.67 expected hits 1 infantry owned by the Americans lost in Northern Italy 2 infantry owned by the Italians lost in Northern Italy Americans win, taking Northern Italy from Italians with 1 bomber, 2 fighters, 1 infantry and 1 tactical_bomber remaining. Battle score for attacker is 3 Casualties for Americans: 1 infantry Casualties for Italians: 2 infantry Battle in 16 Sea Zone Americans attack with 5 fighters and 1 submarine Japanese defend with 1 destroyer Americans roll dice for 1 submarine in 16 Sea Zone, round 2 : 1/1 hits, 0.33 expected hits Japanese roll dice for 1 destroyer in 16 Sea Zone, round 2 : 0/1 hits, 0.33 expected hits 1 destroyer owned by the Japanese lost in 16 Sea Zone Americans win with 5 fighters and 1 submarine remaining. Battle score for attacker is 8 Casualties for Japanese: 1 destroyer Battle in 25 Sea Zone Americans attack with 1 destroyer, 5 fighters and 1 transport Japanese defend with 1 submarine and 1 transport Americans roll dice for 1 destroyer, 5 fighters and 1 transport in 25 Sea Zone, round 2 : 3/6 hits, 2.83 expected hits Japanese roll dice for 1 submarine in 25 Sea Zone, round 2 : 0/1 hits, 0.17 expected hits Japanese roll dice for 1 transport in 25 Sea Zone, round 2 : 0/0 hits, 0.00 expected hits 1 transport owned by the Japanese and 1 submarine owned by the Japanese lost in 25 Sea Zone Americans win with 1 destroyer, 5 fighters and 1 transport remaining. Battle score for attacker is 13 Casualties for Japanese: 1 submarine and 1 transport Battle in Midway Americans attack with 4 fighters and 2 infantry Japanese defend with 1 airfield and 1 infantry Americans roll dice for 4 fighters and 2 infantry in Midway, round 2 : 1/6 hits, 2.33 expected hits Japanese roll dice for 1 infantry in Midway, round 2 : 0/1 hits, 0.33 expected hits 1 infantry owned by the Japanese lost in Midway Americans win, taking Midway from Japanese with 4 fighters and 2 infantry remaining. Battle score for attacker is 3 Casualties for Japanese: 1 infantry Battle in Wake Island Americans attack with 3 fighters, 2 infantry and 1 tactical_bomber Japanese defend with 1 airfield and 1 infantry Americans roll dice for 3 fighters, 2 infantry and 1 tactical_bomber in Wake Island, round 2 : 3/6 hits, 2.50 expected hits Japanese roll dice for 1 infantry in Wake Island, round 2 : 0/1 hits, 0.33 expected hits 1 infantry owned by the Japanese lost in Wake Island Americans win, taking Wake Island from Japanese with 3 fighters, 2 infantry and 1 tactical_bomber remaining. Battle score for attacker is 3 Casualties for Japanese: 1 infantry Non Combat Move - Americans 3 fighters moved from 25 Sea Zone to Hawaiian Islands 4 fighters moved from Midway to 26 Sea Zone 2 fighters moved from 25 Sea Zone to 26 Sea Zone 3 fighters and 1 tactical_bomber moved from Wake Island to 26 Sea Zone 5 fighters moved from 16 Sea Zone to 26 Sea Zone 1 destroyer and 1 submarine moved from 10 Sea Zone to 26 Sea Zone 2 fighters moved from Western United States to Hawaiian Islands 1 fighter moved from Eastern United States to Gibraltar 1 transport moved from 26 Sea Zone to 10 Sea Zone 1 transport moved from 91 Sea Zone to 101 Sea Zone 2 infantry moved from Central United States to 101 Sea Zone 2 infantry and 1 transport moved from 101 Sea Zone to 91 Sea Zone 2 infantry moved from 91 Sea Zone to Morocco 4 infantry and 2 transports moved from 92 Sea Zone to 97 Sea Zone 2 fighters and 1 tactical_bomber moved from Northern Italy to Greece 1 bomber moved from Northern Italy to Greece 1 destroyer moved from 92 Sea Zone to 91 Sea Zone 1 armour and 1 mech_infantry moved from Eastern Persia to Persia
Combat Hit Differential Summary :
Americans regular : 1.17 Japanese regular : -1.17 Italians regular : 0.33
Savegame
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L25 Avner (L+9) vs Surfer (X) BM4

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triplea_41938_7uk.tsvg

Game History
Round: 7 Purchase Units - Americans Americans buy 1 artillery, 2 destroyers, 2 infantry, 6 submarines and 3 transports; Remaining resources: 0 PUs; Combat Move - Americans 1 artillery moved from Hawaiian Islands to 26 Sea Zone 1 artillery and 1 transport moved from 26 Sea Zone to 22 Sea Zone 1 artillery moved from 22 Sea Zone to Marianas 1 armour moved from Tunisia to Libya Americans take Libya from Italians 1 armour moved from Libya to Tobruk Americans take Tobruk from Italians 1 destroyer moved from 54 Sea Zone to 55 Sea Zone 11 fighters and 1 tactical_bomber moved from 54 Sea Zone to 55 Sea Zone Combat - Americans Battle in Marianas Battle in 55 Sea Zone Americans attack with 1 destroyer, 11 fighters and 1 tactical_bomber Japanese defend with 1 submarine Americans roll dice for 1 destroyer, 11 fighters and 1 tactical_bomber in 55 Sea Zone, round 2 : 9/13 hits, 6.50 expected hits Japanese roll dice for 1 submarine in 55 Sea Zone, round 2 : 0/1 hits, 0.17 expected hits 1 submarine owned by the Japanese lost in 55 Sea Zone Americans win, taking Marianas from Japanese with 1 destroyer, 11 fighters and 1 tactical_bomber remaining. Battle score for attacker is 6 Casualties for Japanese: 1 submarine Non Combat Move - Americans 11 fighters and 1 tactical_bomber moved from 55 Sea Zone to 54 Sea Zone 1 marine moved from Marshall Islands to 32 Sea Zone 1 carrier, 1 destroyer and 2 fighters moved from 26 Sea Zone to 54 Sea Zone 1 tactical_bomber moved from Hawaiian Islands to 54 Sea Zone 1 tactical_bomber moved from Hawaiian Islands to 54 Sea Zone 1 bomber moved from Hawaiian Islands to Queensland 1 destroyer moved from 31 Sea Zone to 25 Sea Zone 1 cruiser and 1 marine moved from 32 Sea Zone to 26 Sea Zone 1 marine moved from 26 Sea Zone to Hawaiian Islands 1 infantry moved from Western United States to 10 Sea Zone 1 infantry moved from Western United States to 10 Sea Zone 1 carrier, 2 infantry, 5 submarines and 1 transport moved from 10 Sea Zone to 26 Sea Zone 1 infantry moved from 26 Sea Zone to Hawaiian Islands 1 infantry moved from 26 Sea Zone to Hawaiian Islands 1 mech_infantry moved from Central United States to 101 Sea Zone 1 infantry moved from Central United States to 101 Sea Zone 1 carrier, 1 infantry, 1 mech_infantry and 1 transport moved from 101 Sea Zone to 91 Sea Zone 1 mech_infantry moved from 91 Sea Zone to Morocco 1 infantry moved from 91 Sea Zone to Morocco 1 fighter moved from 54 Sea Zone to Queensland 1 fighter moved from 54 Sea Zone to Queensland Place Units - Americans 1 destroyer and 2 transports placed in 101 Sea Zone 2 infantry placed in Central United States 1 artillery placed in Western United States 1 destroyer, 5 submarines and 1 transport placed in 10 Sea Zone 1 submarine placed in 101 Sea Zone Turn Complete - Americans Americans collect 54 PUs; end with 54 PUs Trigger Americans 7 North Africa Beach Head: Americans met a national objective for an additional 5 PUs; end with 59 PUs Objective Americans 1 Homeland: Americans met a national objective for an additional 10 PUs; end with 69 PUs Objective Americans 8 Pacific Airfields: Americans met a national objective for an additional 5 PUs; end with 74 PUs Objective Americans 3 Defense Obligations: Americans met a national objective for an additional 5 PUs; end with 79 PUs Objective Americans 2 Outer Territories: Americans met a national objective for an additional 5 PUs; end with 84 PUs Purchase Units - Chinese Trigger Chinese Loses Burma Road: Chinese has their production frontier changed to: productionChinese_Burma_Road_Closed Combat Move - Chinese Turn Complete - Chinese Chinese collect 0 PUs; end with 2 PUs Purchase Units - British British buy 1 artillery, 1 destroyer, 4 infantry, 1 submarine and 1 transport; Remaining resources: 0 PUs; Purchase Units - UK_Pacific UK_Pacific buy 3 infantry; Remaining resources: 0 PUs; Combat Move - British 1 bomber moved from Persia to Burma 1 infantry moved from India to Burma 1 infantry moved from India to Burma Combat - British Battle in Burma British attack with 1 bomber and 2 infantry Japanese defend with 1 infantry British roll dice for 1 bomber and 2 infantry in Burma, round 2 : 1/3 hits, 1.00 expected hits Japanese roll dice for 1 infantry in Burma, round 2 : 0/1 hits, 0.33 expected hits 1 infantry owned by the Japanese lost in Burma British win, taking Burma from Japanese with 1 bomber and 2 infantry remaining. Battle score for attacker is 3 Casualties for Japanese: 1 infantry Non Combat Move - British 1 bomber moved from Burma to India 1 battleship, 1 carrier, 2 cruisers, 1 destroyer, 2 fighters and 2 transports moved from 81 Sea Zone to 80 Sea Zone 1 armour and 1 mech_infantry moved from Belgian Congo to Anglo Egyptian Sudan 3 armour moved from Union of South Africa to Belgian Congo 1 tactical_bomber moved from Tanganyika Territory to Belgian Congo 4 infantry moved from Brazil to 86 Sea Zone 4 infantry and 2 transports moved from 86 Sea Zone to 91 Sea Zone 1 infantry moved from 91 Sea Zone to Gibraltar 1 infantry moved from 91 Sea Zone to Gibraltar 1 infantry moved from 91 Sea Zone to Gibraltar 1 infantry moved from 91 Sea Zone to Gibraltar 1 artillery and 2 infantry moved from Persia to Iraq Place Units - British 1 destroyer and 1 submarine placed in 109 Sea Zone 1 transport placed in 106 Sea Zone 1 artillery and 1 infantry placed in Quebec 3 infantry placed in Persia British undo move 3. British undo move 2. 1 transport placed in 71 Sea Zone 1 artillery and 1 infantry placed in Union of South Africa Turn Complete - British British collect 34 PUs; end with 34 PUs Trigger British 3 No Enemy Submarines: British met a national objective for an additional 3 PUs; end with 37 PUs Place Units - UK_Pacific 3 infantry placed in India Turn Complete - UK_Pacific UK_Pacific collect 6 PUs; end with 6 PUs Trigger UK Pacific 4 No Enemy Submarines: UK_Pacific met a national objective for an additional 3 PUs; end with 9 PUs Some Units in India change ownership: 3 infantry
Combat Hit Differential Summary :
Americans regular : 2.50 Japanese regular : -0.50 British regular : 0.00
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Global 1942 Test Games (Daaras, Mikawa, Stu)

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• • • Stucifer

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@Stucifer no scramble, and man is this a good attack. italy is dead
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Mikawa vs Daaras G42 Practice

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• • • Daaras

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TripleA Turn Summary: Chinese round 1
TripleA Turn Summary for game: World War II Global 1942 2nd Edition

Game History
Round: 1 Purchase Units - Chinese Trigger Chinese Loses Burma Road: Chinese has their production frontier changed to: productionChinese_Burma_Road_Closed Chinese buy 4 infantry; Remaining resources: 0 PUs; Combat Move - Chinese 1 infantry moved from Kweichow to Hunan 1 fighter moved from Szechwan to Hunan Combat - Chinese Battle in Hunan Chinese attack with 1 fighter and 1 infantry Japanese defend with 1 infantry Chinese roll dice for 1 fighter and 1 infantry in Hunan, round 2 : 0/2 hits, 0.67 expected hits Japanese roll dice for 1 infantry in Hunan, round 2 : 0/1 hits, 0.33 expected hits Chinese roll dice for 1 fighter and 1 infantry in Hunan, round 3 : 1/2 hits, 0.67 expected hits Japanese roll dice for 1 infantry in Hunan, round 3 : 0/1 hits, 0.33 expected hits 1 infantry owned by the Japanese lost in Hunan Chinese win, taking Hunan from Japanese with 1 fighter and 1 infantry remaining. Battle score for attacker is 3 Casualties for Japanese: 1 infantry Non Combat Move - Chinese 1 fighter moved from Hunan to Shensi 2 infantry moved from Szechwan to Shensi Place Units - Chinese 4 infantry placed in Shensi Turn Complete - Chinese Chinese collect 9 PUs; end with 9 PUs
Combat Hit Differential Summary :
Chinese regular : -0.33 Japanese regular : -0.67
Savegame
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Axis & Allies Stalingrad: Early Review and Balance Impressions

Axis & Allies Stalingrad
• • • Hansolo88

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Full disclosure: This is replicating a post I made on the BoardGameGeek entry for this game. Since I value the community here also I thought I’d cross-post it.

I want to write something similar to my “First Impressions” post on North Africa, though once again I don’t consider myself sufficiently qualified or experienced with the game to write a true review. Instead I will focus on a collection of thoughts that will hopefully be helpful to those browsing the game on BGG and looking for a more serious description.

Introduction

Welcome to the Eastern Front! A theater that consumed far more manpower than all other fronts of WW2 combined and where the German military was ultimately broken at enormous cost. The Eastern Front is usually a significant part of any Axis&Allies global game, but it never seems to play out in a way that resembles history particularly well. Now we have a game zoomed in on one of the most pivotal battles of that theater with a commitment to a more historical depiction.

I continue to be thrilled that Renegade has continued this new theater-level Axis&Allies series with the second title in 2 years, and I’m also thrilled that Matt Hyra continues to be the primary consistent design influence. I wish him and all those working with him continued success on this line.

Components

The map for Stalingrad of two pieces that, uniquely, are not simply joined to make a larger area; rather one map covers the region surrounding and west of Stalingrad, and one depicts the city itself. There are 3 territories on the region map that connect into specific territories on the city map and allow units to flow in and out. It’s a pretty creative take on how to show both the significant fighting in and around the city at the same time. The overall color palette of the map is very “Eastern Front” with lots of tan, brown, dark red, and some white/gray. All the territory color-coding does serve a purpose, but it can look a little garish in how saturated it is. I’m somewhat neutral on the final look, but similar to North Africa I love how generously sized the regions are. The map is also criss-crossed by red rail/road lines and has marked entry points. All of this is functional, though the rail/road lines are a little too bright for me personally and visually conflict with the region lines, especially considering I haven’t seen them used much yet in actual gameplay (unlike the prominent and much more heavily-used coast road in North Africa).

I did think after seeing early announcements that the unit piece count for Stalingrad seemed low, but I now I think that has to do with using the pieces more efficiently with only 2 powers in the game vs. other games with multiple powers each needing a set of pieces. It still feels like a pretty large-scale amount of fighting. In general, the pieces are the standard sculpts with a few exceptions I’ll note below. Surprisingly the game also comes with a small but functional amount of paper money, which I think is a nice touch. Though I hope it is a very cheap addition as it’s not necessary and many folks will probably not use it. I’m pretty sure Stalingrad comes with the same bag of green/gray stacking chips that North Africa did. The cards are a very heavy and stiff cardstock; they seem quite durable. Not sure if they can be sleeved, or if you would even want to.

So let’s talk about the newer pieces.

The Germans get a STUGIII piece, functioning as a sort of mobile anti-tank gun. It moves 2 similar to a tank, but attacks at only a 2 and defends at a 3 at a cost of 5 (tanks are 3/3 in this game and cost 6). Most importantly it has “targeted fire” which works similarly to North Africa where the opposing player must remove a tank as casualty per hit. Overall it’s fine, the Soviets will have plenty of tanks in this scenario so it will get to use its ability and the Axis player gets to spend time on the defensive as well. It’s also nice to see these historically important vehicles represented, as the STGIII was the single-most produced German AFV of the war. The main annoyance comes from them looking incredibly similar to the tanks, especially in the black color. They also feels a little unnecessary; it feels like they could have been replaced at some ratio with tanks and the game would feel basically the same.

The Soviets get a unit representing the Katyusha Rocket Launcher, which is a much more unique unit. They are very cheap at only 2, with no combat value at all. However, their special ability is that once per turn if not in combat they can fire into adjacent regions (or farther if firing inside the city) trying to roll a 1 to score a hit which is removed prior to normal combat, sort of like a long-range heavy artillery unit. I like the basic idea, but I dislike how they feel in practice; rather than a shock unit that is focused on saturation bombardments as part of major offensives, it becomes a sort of weird sniper unit. Considering the game already differentiates assaults from ongoing battles, it felt like a missed opportunity not to let Katyushas have a niche role in supporting major offensives (aka Assaults in game terms) but be not very useful otherwise. The sculpt is very cool though.

Lastly, there are Axis Minor infantry/artillery in a kind of lemon-yellow color. When it was announced that Minor Axis units would be included there was a lot of excitement, followed by some minor community disappointment (get it) when they were fully revealed. The infantry function identically to the German infantry, except they don’t benefit from the Force Multiplier ability that German infantry get when they move onto the city board. This means they should generally be left on the region board to guard the flanks, which of course is exactly how they were used historically. There is really no reason to ever buy new ones. The Axis Minor artillery functions the exact same as German artillery and is for flavor only. I do miss the ability of the D10 combat system in North Africa to differentiate different national units with different combat values, but considering the Stalingrad design is trying to maintain a simpler rules overhead sticking with a D6 system makes sense.

Last but not least, I hate to even mention it but the MRSP jump was unfortunate. For those who don’t remember, Stalingrad was originally going to be a $60 MRSP game and it still feels like a $60 game component-wise to players with my kind of memory. It was pushed up to $80 for various legitimate reasons and I can understand why, but it’s tough to get over just how hard inflation has been hitting the board game industry the last few years (including before and after the tariff concerns). I’m still struggling to reset my brain around some of these new costs. At least all of the components here feel top notch with no corners cut, so there is that; it does feel like Renegade is committed to producing a premium product.

Rules

Much has been said about North Africa being surprisingly complex (from an Axis&Allies viewpoint anyways), and Stalingrad was pitched early on by the designer as a simpler game. From that perspective, mission accomplished; Stalingrad does a nice job keeping a lot of historical flavor while also maintaining a much reduced rules overhead.
The flow of a game turn is 14 steps long, each step described on a deck of cards that can be methodically flipped through to walk you through the game turn sequence. The rulebook does a pretty nice job overall; I could quibble on a few wordings, but on the whole it’s a lot easier to learn (32 pages for Stalingrad to 40 pages for North Africa, meaning it’s missing 8 pages of hard rules).

At its core, Stalingrad borrows from the original Axis&Allies D-Day combat system where battles last a single round, both sides are forced to attack each turn, and where stacking limits are present to prevent too much concentration of force in a small area. No stacks of 50 Soviet infantry guarding Moscow here… instead each space is limited to 8 units. No retreating is allowed either, once committed to a battle units stay until they win or die. Supply rules are back but are more abstracted in that you track supply lines from sources. Supply tokens are present but are only spent to allow out of supply units to temporarily fight as if in supply, there are no trucks to move them so you have to use valuable bombers to do so. Otherwise out of supply units fight at a -1 to all combat values. Rivers and fortified zones boost defense combat power by +1s. The river rule is neat, but the fortified zone rule does cause the odd quirk that battles over fortified zones tend to be actually bloodier and more quickly resolved than otherwise; I would have preferred if the defenders could have ignored one hit or something. It’s also awkward because both sides are forced to attack/defend each turn, so the side originally defending the fortification is forced to attack the other player while they get the bonus.

There are some nifty rules around rivers freezing and bad weather grounding air units. The city fighting functions basically the same as on the region map, but with the addition of “ambush” sites that represent snipers. Infantry can hang out in these ambush sites and shoot at enemy units with impunity while being quite hard to remove. The Volga river is also represented, as well as the tenuous Soviet supply lines across it into the city. Ferries can carry infantry reinforcements across but can also be bombed and sunk, which can also disrupt Soviet supply until they are replaced. The Germans do get one important and badly needed “force multiplier” advantage when moving into the city; the German infantry and mechanized infantry units are doubled in quantity, though they must cut back down to half again if they move back out to the regional board. To emphasize the smaller scale of the city board, artillery firing anti-aircraft and Soviet rocket launchers can reach the whole board from anywhere (which becomes quite perilous for Axis aircraft especially).

The major historic Soviet counter-attack on the flanks is handled via a system of cards depicting units that the Soviet player starts collecting on Turn 3, and provides flexibility for when the Soviet player launches the attack; they are rewarded for launching the attack later, at the risk of losing more ground in the meantime. When they do launch the offensive they reveal the cards and gain a significant number of free units which are placed on the Axis flanks automatically. They are then able to cut off the Axis supply lines if able, achieving the historic result, or otherwise attempt to secure the Soviet victory conditions. Only a few turns after the Soviet offensive begins can the Axis player finally spend their collected RPs and bring on reinforcements (which could be as late as turn 10).

Similar to North Africa, there are two scenarios included; one that covers the full turn limit (“Race to Stalingrad”) and a shorter scenario that picks up about half-way through the length of the longer one, right as Operation Uranus is launched (aptly titled “Operation Uranus”). My assumption is that the shorter Operation Uranus was intended for competitive tournament play and was probably better play-tested for balance, similar to the Operation Torch scenario for North Africa.

Gameplay and Balance Observations

By the summer of 1942 the United States had entered the war and meaningfully large amounts of US war material were starting to flow to the allies. Combined with the significantly larger Allied manpower reserves Germany’s fate was sealed, but a successful Case Blue offensive to secure Stalingrad and the Caucasus oilfields at least had the potential to significantly help the Axis war effort while hindering the Soviet war effort. In reality, the offensive was a failure; German resources became over-stretched, the Soviets were stronger than anticipated, Hitler muddled the strategic direction of the offensive and then his inflexibility doomed it when things went wrong. However the campaign does fit several elements that tend to make great Axis & Allies games: A strong Axis opening position, an Allied player buying time for greater forces to come to bear, and the potential for a very dramatic and tense finish. The added wrinkle of the German counter-offensive rules (modeled after Operation Winter Storm, historically the failed German offensive to relieve the Stalingrad pocket) adds yet another back-and-forth potential to the narrative.

It’s interesting that the victory conditions for the Axis presume Hitler’s obsession with Stalingrad itself, with total victory being the Germans completely occupying the city and major victory being retaining only a supplied foothold in the city. The Axis player is hobbled by Hitler’s inflexibility in not allowing any kind of strategic withdrawal, and the limited number of RP points available are almost all on the city map forcing the Axis player to push hard. The Soviet objectives are much more straightforward, defending the city and pushing the Axis back at a regional level.

On a positive note: the game captures the core excitement of the campaign, the push into Stalingrad itself and the bitter street fighting. The Germans start with a moderate but important force advantage and are highly incentivized to attack hard into the city. They need to take advantage of initial Soviet command inflexibility, while being careful to minimize casualties due to receiving nearly no replacements the bulk of the game. The Soviets are incentivized to strongly defend the city, but with a flexible defense that buys time and utilizes reinforcements smartly. All while prepping for the significant mid-game offensive that both players know is coming. While the game certainly feels a little scripted in terms of how it’s intended to play out, it’s still Axis & Allies which mean there are a multitude of small choices to make and battles to roll out that may or may not turn out how you wanted or needed them to.

On a negative note: So far in my limited play I am disappointed in the balance and experience of the larger “Race to Stalingrad” scenario. My bias is that I’m personally buying and playing these theater games for the full campaign experience rather than the shorter scenario. I accept that there is more potential for divergence in the outcome of these longer scenarios but I find that part of the enjoyment of seeing how the game plays out. Therefore I am not commenting on the balance or experience of the “Operation Uranus” scenario (yet). However when I play the “Race to Stalingrad” scenario, my experience is that the game is heavily balanced against the Axis forces to a level that greatly reduces my enjoyment of the game. This is worthy of an entirely separate post, but ultimately it comes down to the high-attrition combat system heavily punishing the Axis forces.

Soviet forces are not actually that inferior at set-up; at the start of the game the Axis have 74 units to the Soviet 70, and the Soviets will quickly add significant reinforcements even just over the first few turns, including a steady flow of free valuable tank and artillery units from the Stalingrad factories; a nice historic touch but feeling very punishing for the Axis player. The Axis forces have a more advantageous concentration of force and more expensive units on average at set-up. However by the time the Axis have pushed into the city and started capturing RP locations they will have suffered significant losses, while the Soviets have amassed an enormous amount of additional units on their Operation Uranus cards. By the time the Germans do get to start spending RPs (probably turn 9 or 10) they will likely be in dire straits while the Soviets will have brought on hundreds of RP of additional units by that point.

I understand that very smart and careful German play combined with lucky German die rolls can swing the game in their favor and even result in a victory, but I’m confident in saying that will not be most people’s experience. It’s a stark contrast to 1940 Global. 1940 Global, using the standard set-up, is normally considered fairly evenly balanced between newer players and only becomes very favorable to the Axis between more experienced and skilled players. Stalingrad feels the opposite; right out the gate the Axis player has to play basically perfectly AND hope for good dice. Otherwise, the lack of Axis replacements combined with strong Soviet replacements means their position will rapidly spiral out of control. I haven’t seen a game yet where the Soviets ever felt truly pressured or where the German position didn’t look hopeless by the 6th or 7th turn (of a 14 turn game). A single bad set of dice can set into motion a rapid collapse of a section of the Axis front with no chance of recovery.

What I’m trying to say is that not only does the game feel unbalanced against the Axis, the resulting “fun factor” is impacted. There are only 20 RP on the board total (4 on the region board, 16 on the city board) and the Axis player actually has to actively garrison regions to collect that amount with their rapidly dwindling forces being increasingly exposed. Soviet Rocket launchers and ambush sites add even more attrition against Axis forces. All that to collect a measly amount of Axis RP that will not be able to be spent until near the end of the game. Steadily losing units as the Axis player while not buying any replacements for the bulk of the game doesn’t feel fun or even particularly like an Axis and Allies game. While for the Soviet player, the historic feeling of being backed against the river with forces barely holding on just isn’t there; the Axis forces are simply too weak by mid-game to re-create that feeling. There should be tension around when the Soviet player decides to launch the Operation Uranus offensive based on how desperate their game situation is, but I’ve yet to see it.

The fact that the early community consensus is universally concerned that the balance is heavily against the Axis has me worried. A few apologists have stated that Axis players just need to “git gud” and learn better techniques. There is probably something to this, and I’ve noticed my Axis play significantly improving with a little experience. The problem is I feel like I’m over the bulk of the learning curve as the Axis and it’s still not even close to even. At this point the Axis in my opinion the Axis need significantly larger starting forces. This could be secured with a bid, and that may be something to experiment with, but it’s so obvious that it’s unfortunate to me that this couldn’t have been better accounted for by simply adding another stack or 2 of Axis units to the starting setup.

Conclusion and Final Thoughts

In the end I’m still going to recommend this game. If you want to play one of the new theater games but dislike the rules complexity of North Africa, Stalingrad is still a solid choice. I’m hopeful that the community cracks more of the code of the “Race for Stalingrad” scenario for the Axis and/or that a bid system becomes normal to achieve better balance. The shorter scenario may be amazing, and there is tons of wonderful historical flavor here. Let’s be honest, a lot of us are just using these games as an excuse to play with toy soldiers and this game more than checks that box. I simply think in terms of tension and balance the North Africa game did a better job at capturing the historical feeling of a campaign hanging in the balance.

One last reflection. I would have loved to have seen a larger region board that included the Caucasus front and covered the full scope of Case Blue, with perhaps a smaller Stalingrad board. I get the logistical advantage of producing 2 boards of the same size but I would have loved to see a larger scale game on the strategic level and a smaller scope city battle myself. I also slightly worry that having gotten this game we won’t get another Eastern Front theater game.

If you read all this, thanks, it ended up being a lot longer than I expected. I still want to explore the balance concerns in more detail but I’ll have to save that for a later post!
I want to close by saying thanks to Matt Hyra as designer and Renegade games. This recent renaissance of Axis and Allies has been wonderful to participate in and I’m fully on board for future games in this series. These games are a difficult design challenge and I appreciate all the work involved in bringing them to my table.
C

World at War game 22

Team Games
• • • captainwalker

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@Entek Italy up
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OOB Oysteilo +40 v Gamerman01 with tech - UHD map

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• • • gamerman01

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2v2 game and Classic game played last night, so will not play those again until after this G20 will be done. I haven’t started looking at it yet
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j_stroyer v mike (axis) G40 OOB

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• • • mike64

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@mike64 j_stroyer-v-mike-ANZAC-Fra 1.tsvg

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